Thanks Frank! The chest box is made of black plastic sheets. The front is 7"x3", though it could be smaller. The sides are 1" deep. I super glued the pieces together and used caulk to hide the seams. Then I sanded the corners to give the vacuu-formed look. It's painted Gunship grey. The black part is a 3"x3"x1" cover with a 2.75" hole cut in it. Then I cut up some black zip ties to 3" and glued those to the cover, then glued the whole thing onto the chestbox.

Y'know, I think you're right about the "black strap" on the flak vest being a shadow, the more I look at the pictures. I was working on a Y-wing pilot flightsuit texture image for a media project I've been working on for a while (I've made all of the pilot outfits for it), and took some inspiration from your outfit (thanks! ), and as I layered the top of the vest over where the strap was assumed to be and added a drop shadow, it started to look pretty correct, and match the movie references rather well. It casts a dark shadow across the mid-section of the front vest from one side to the other.

Especially looking at Viper's picture, it looks like the vest has some padding through the top half, is thin where that strap was assumed to be (which the thicker padding above causes a shadow to be cast over the thin part), and then the bottom half of the vest is even more padded. You can even see the shadow in the picture.

I also notice what looks to be a backpack buckle placed on the vest for no apparent reason. Weird. And his gaiters are up-side down.

I am still amazed at your work and can't quit looking! Where is this pic. from?

Blue Banshee Leader wrote:

Y'know, I think you're right about the "black strap" on the flak vest being a shadow, the more I look at the pictures. I was working on a Y-wing pilot flightsuit texture image for a media project I've been working on for a while (I've made all of the pilot outfits for it), and took some inspiration from your outfit (thanks! ), and as I layered the top of the vest over where the strap was assumed to be and added a drop shadow, it started to look pretty correct, and match the movie references rather well. It casts a dark shadow across the mid-section of the front vest from one side to the other.

Especially looking at Viper's picture, it looks like the vest has some padding through the top half, is thin where that strap was assumed to be (which the thicker padding above causes a shadow to be cast over the thin part), and then the bottom half of the vest is even more padded. You can even see the shadow in the picture.

I also notice what looks to be a backpack buckle placed on the vest for no apparent reason. Weird. And his gaiters are up-side down.

I am still amazed at your work and can't quit looking! Where is this pic. from?

MILF_Viper posted that and another picture. There's a link to the thread in the first post here. It's from the original opening of Star Tours, if I understand correctly._________________B-wing Pilot - Jedi
-Former RLSC XO - Former Costume Judge - RL Pilot Costume Mentor

Having seen the real thing, let me say that this looks REALLY REALLY good! The shape seems to be dead on. Well done. There are just a few details that aren't quite right but would be easy to fix to make it pretty much perfect.

Starting at the top, the black "radio looking" box should be all black. The "grill" or bars on the end could be a little subdued and not go off the edge.

The pocket on the left holds some kind of Motorola device with a belt clip. The Motorola logo is on the clip and faces out one vest, and inside on another. I imagine they didn't want the logo to be facing out, so this probably got rearranged after filming.

The black thing on the outside of the pocket should be square and is a piece of circuit board. Same board you see on other boxes and I think some Rebel rank bars. Not painted, either. It has four round silver transistors or whatever they're called.

There is no strap that goes across the front, but you have the greeblies in the right spot. They could be closer together. The circle gear piece isn't right. It's an oval shaped electronic part with three "L" shaped metal protrusions (small). Hard to describe when I don't know what the part is. Something old and radio looking.

Opposite the pocket, on the right, is a yellow stitched on patch that has handwritten alien gibberish. Not a pocket with greeblies showing through. Right shape, though.

The bottom riveting flap also has a patch sewn on, this one dirty white, with more alien gibberish (on one vest). Another vest, instead of alien text, has this:

PROPERTY OF
BRAM WILEY
350 MONTEZUMA
FOREST KNOLLS, CAL

Curious! Only 13 miles from Skywalker Ranch. Found item maybe? No zip code and the state abbreviation is three letters, and old style address.

I was wondering if you were going to see this Scott! Considering you are one of the few who have seen the real one up close, your notes would be the most valuable. As I stated before, I knew the greeblies were going to be wrong, so I wasn't too concerned about matching them. I.E. the Motorola device in the right pocket. I could make a thousand "Motorola devices" and still not match what you saw. Without basing a design off of a detailed picture, there really isn't much I, or anyone else, can do. So, I figured the best thing I could do was fill it with Star Wars tech to make it look ... Star Warsie. Someday, I may finally see detailed pictures of the greeblies, and then I will replace them.
But, I'm really happy to know that the shape is correct. The greeblies can easily be replaced, as you said. But re-sewing any of this would be a headache. The belly pouch took forever to figure out, and if you say it looks good shape wise, that makes me happy.
I will say, the white strap between the upper-vest and belly pouch is there to strengthen the stitching between the two parts, like a bridge. It's there to cover up my bad sewing abilities. Believe me, it's a miracle this thing wasn't a pile of rags. It's white so no one will notice from a few feet away, and should not be copied by anyone copying me. I suppose I could try and hide it better!
Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

I made some modifications. Dirtier vest, longer hose, loner leg straps, and I got my belt and DH-17 holster from Mel. Mel does great work and is highly recommended by me! I also repainted my brother's X-wing helmet, so I HAD to commit blasphemy and take a pic. I give you, the Rebel Assault II costume!
[img]Rebel Assault II by Birgle38, on Flickr[/img]π

Jeff,
I noticed your location listed as Chicago.
Chicago ILL. ?
I'm wondering if you will make it to Bartlett for the parade on the 7th of July?

I do live in the Windy City, however I am taking classes on Sundays, so I won't be able to make the parade. I plan on attending the Wizard World Con in August if the RL is going to be there.

Nar Shaddaa Base members were on hand at C2E2 and had a booth there....conducted a game....etc...

I don't know about Wizard World yet....
The last few years C2E2 has been a bigger draw for the costume groups than WW...however...
our relationship with Reed changed this year for the C2E2 event...so...who knows...

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